The Bahnar People’s Tradition of Welcoming Guests with Jar Wine
- Oct 31, 2025
- 3 min read
Jar wine (rượu ghè) is an essential beverage in the daily life of the ethnic communities in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Today, it is a widely popular drink, often found in local markets. For the Bahnar people in Gia Lai, jar wine is served during important village and family events such as Yàng (deity) worship ceremonies, grave-abandonment rituals, housewarming celebrations, weddings, new rice festivals, and especially when welcoming honored guests.
Hospitality and the Role of Jar Wine
Like other Central Highlands ethnic groups, the Bahnar people are known for their simplicity, friendliness, and hospitality. Whenever guests arrive, they are warmly welcomed — to them, having visitors is a source of happiness.
A Bahnar host may not always have meat like pork or chicken to serve, but jar wine is never absent. Even poor households keep a jar of fermented wine ready to offer guests when they visit.
The Ritual of Drinking Jar Wine
When guests arrive, before the meal, the host or the eldest person in the family will ask the younger members to bring out the jar wine. The wine jar must be filled with water one to two hours in advance, allowing the yeast to blend and strengthen the flavor. Guests are only invited to drink after eating, as it is considered impolite to drink on an empty stomach.
Before serving, the host inserts two long bamboo straws (called “đing treng”) into the jar and tests them to make sure they are not clogged. Then, using a small metal cup called “khot” (reserved for honored guests), the host fills the mouth of the jar with water while holding a “kang” (a ladle-like tool) to gently stir the surface and pray.
According to Mr. Krung Dăm Veo from Piơm village, Đắk Đoa town (originally from Kông Chro District):
“In Bahnar tradition, before drinking, one must pray to Yàng, the ancestors, and spirits to avoid offending them or causing the guest to feel unwell. The prayer also asks for blessings and good fortune for the visitor. Only after this can we drink; it cannot be done casually or disorderly.”
Symbolic Meanings in the Drinking Process
During the drinking, the host and guest chat while keeping an eye on the water level in the jar. When it reaches a certain point, they stop and pour water from the khot back into the jar.
If the poured water fills the jar exactly to the brim, the guest is seen as polite and good-natured.
If the water falls short, the guest is thought to be greedy.
If it overflows, the guest is considered clumsy, short-tempered, or careless.
This first round of drinking is called “pơih pơnâng” (the “opening” drink). Afterward, the host inserts more straws so that everyone in the household can drink together with the guest — symbolizing unity and kinship.
Etiquette and Order of Drinking
Once the communal drink is done, the host removes all but one straw to continue individual rounds with the guest. If relatives or neighbors bring their own wine jars to join the celebration, the guest must drink in sequence, from one jar to the next, using the kang to measure the amount consumed.
Guests are not allowed to adjust the straw length — doing so is seen as disrespectful. Typically, one must finish a kang before refilling and passing it on to the next drinker.
However, guests may politely decline to drink too much, especially after the first round, as long as they taste from each jar, starting from the eldest to the youngest.
Mr. Krung Dăm Veo explains:
“With the first person, the guest should finish the kang slowly. With others, they may drink less or just take a sip. But if the guest drinks heartily with everyone, they will soon become drunk and forget the world!”
A Gesture of Friendship and Respect
If a guest drinks generously, laughs, and enjoys themselves, the host feels deeply honored — believing that the guest appreciates their hospitality and food, no matter how humble.
In the following days, the family may cook a feast — slaughtering a pig or chicken, or if poor, catching fish or crabs from the stream — to share with their guest during their stay.
Before the visitor departs, the host customarily brings out a small jar of wine to drink together once more, wishing them a safe and happy journey home.
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